Pop Music Notes

Once again, I find myself being sucked into the new season of X Factor, primarily because its US counterpart (American Idol) has become such a pitiful shell of its former self. While the X Factor tryout episodes are just as annoying at times as the US tryouts are, every once in a while you get a glimpse of talent so unexpected that it blows you away. Such is the case with 16-year-old Cher Lloyd, who blew the judges and live audience away with her performance of Keri Hilson’s cover of “Turn My Swag On”. To give some context, here’s the video for Keri’s take on the Soulja Boy original:

And then check out Cher’s intro and performance. This, my friends, is why I love the talent shows. Despite the fact that Cher is modeling her style and choreography off of Keri’s performance, she is a natural-born performer.

Honestly, I could watch that over and over and over again. If ever there was an example of someone having an X Factor, it’s Cher. Next stop is boot camp, and it has to be all but a given that she’s going to make it onto the main competition. If you watched the end of the audition video, you would swear that Cheryl was plotting some diabolical plan to steal either Cher’s talent or her soul. I haven’t decided which yet.

As for Keri Hilson, she should have an album coming out soon, although her release dates bounce around quite a bit if her debut CD is any indication. Idolator posted a new track called “Still a Girl”, and while Robbie likened the sound to TLC, I hear a LOT of Gabrielle’s “Dreams” in the backing track. Solid album cut, although I don’t think it has hit potential, but it’s an interesting direction for her. You have to wonder if “Turn My Swag On’ will end up on the new record, but in the meantime you can pick up the remix version of Soulja Boy’s track with Keri singing the hook at Amazon MP3 or iTunes.

What the heck…let’s close this out with a Gabrielle flashback. Rumor has it she is coming out with a new album in the near future.